Reviewed by Melissa Garza
Since I can remember, I have been a fan of Jim Henson and his amazing creations. I grew up watching “The Muppet Show,” “Fraggle Rock,” “Sesame Street” “Labyrinth, “The Dark Crystal” and every Henson related special that was on.
When I first met my husband, our mutual adoration for puppets and Jim Henson brought us together. After only a few months of dating, he surprised me with tickets to a playhouse production of “Emmet Otter’s Jug-band Christmas,” where I was able to witness the Riverbottom Nightmare Band perform live. I remember thinking on that day, “this is the man I’m going to marry.”
A few years ago, The Muppets Studio produced a few videos that went viral online. One displayed the crew singing to “Bohemian Rhapsody” and another showed Beaker paying homage to Beetoven In “Ode to Joy.” Two comic books followed. The superior of the two reads like episodes of the show, while the other are takes on fairytales. It was clearly evident that the public yearned for The Muppets to return – and return they have!
In all honesty, the trailer for the new film had my husband and I on different sides of the fence. I decided to be as optimistic as I could and ignored any negativity I heard on forums or message boards. My husband grew concerned with some of the plot points he had heard about. We both decided that we were going to go in completely open-minded and hope for the best. I’m happy to say that the Best is what we received. Both of us walked out of the theater extremely happy – until a crazy driver in a van nearly ran us over that is.
The movie opens with Gary (Jason Segel) and his puppet brother Walter (Peter Linz) expressing how big of fans they are of the Muppets. Old footage of the show is viewed as the two sit in their living room cracking up at every segment. Even after the program disappears from TV, they watch old VHS recordings. Walter, who often feels as though he doesn’t belong among people, identifies with everything Muppet related and idolizes the gang. The presents he receives generally display Kermit or one of the other Muppets. He is constantly wearing a watch and t-shirt with Kermit’s face. Above his bed there are posters and stickers of the crew.
Gary, though in his thirties, still lives in the same room with his brother. Over the years, since childhood, Gary has protected and shielded Walter. In one scene, Walter attempts to go on a roller coaster but is told he is too short. Gary, who is only about 11 or 12 at the time, tells him he isn’t missing much and they both decide to go and watch a movie instead. More than just siblings, the duo have a deep friendship which is central to the storyline. There is a real love between the two which is sweet, but also somewhat destructive as Walter has learned to depend completely on his brother and Gary has included him in every aspect of his life, going as far as to invite him to the 10th Anniversary celebratory vacation he had planned with his girlfriend Mary (Amy Adams).
Mary is a sweet fun teacher who the students adore so much so that when she mentions spring break, they all get sad. Gary shows up to pick her up from school so that they can leave. Though she tells him thing are fine with his brother attending, she is growing tired of the constant third wheel.
Mary looks forward to site seeing in Hollywood with Gary, but first the trio goes directly to a tour at The Muppets Studio. Long closed down, nearly every room is closed to the public. When everyone had walked on, Walter snuck into Kermit’s (Steve Whitmire) old office to look around. While in there, noises are heard which make it evident that a group of people were about to walk in. Walter hides and Statler (Steve Whitmire) and Waldorf (Dave Goelz) enter with Tex Richman (Chris Cooper) and his puppet cronies. Richman has purchased the office from Kermit and promised to make a Muppet Museum in honor of their reign of popularity. Upon Statler and Waldorf leaving, Richman proudly announces that the museum is nothing but a ruse and instead he intends to drill for oil. Walter conveniently overhears the entire plan along with the only way out – for The Muppets to raise 10 million dollars to buy the studio back.
Gary, Mary and Walter drive around until they find Kermit’s home. When they reach him and tell him of Richman’s intentions, Kermit grows dismayed. Knowing that the only way to raise the amount of money needed is with a show, he admits that the group hasn’t connected in years. Even Miss Piggy has left her Kermie.
After a little swaying, the group decides to locate each member of The Muppets and bring them all back together. Everyone agrees except for Piggy. With her rejection, they search for a replacement – and find one in Miss Poogy who is a member of The Moopets a “tribute” band. Poogy is a hardcore pig with a bad attitude. It doesn’t take long for Miss Piggy to have a change of heart. She beats Poogy up and takes her rightful spot. Poogy promises to return and make them pay. She rejoins her tribute band and finds out that Richman not only possesses the old studio but also The Muppets name and every character. They group and oil tycoon become partners and agree that once the studio is officially his, they will capitalize on The Muppets name by giving it to The Moopets.
Desperate to keep the studio and their identities, The Muppets quickly put on a telethon to raise money. The struggle against the clock and against Richman’s antics to ensure Kermit and the gang doesn’t win.
In the end, it comes down to whether The Muppets can be accepted by fans as they did in the 70s and 80s. Ironically, the success of this movie also depends on that same amount of appreciation. It comes down to going beyond the immediate nostalgia created by seeing something from childhood. That only carries so much weight as all of the sequels, remakes and revisions that have flopped show. No succeeding can only be found by recapturing the entertainment value that they once had and by making them relevant once more. I am happy to say that they more than accomplished that in this production. I look forward to sequels or (hopefully) a television show spinoff reminiscent of the original.
Scared Stiff Rating: 7/10